The Great British Lock-in

The Star Inn, Harome, North Yorkshire

When Yorkshire-born chef Andrew Pern and his wife Jacquie
divorced, the village of Harome, near Helmsley, was up in arms, for
their award-winning pub and hotel were at the heart of this place.
Thankfully, Jacquie took The Pheasant Hotel and Andrew kept The
Star Inn, and both run much as they always did. The Star is a
lovely 14th-century thatched building. You could play a mean game
of hide-and-seek here: the creaky eaves - haunted, according to one
waitress - hold a private dining space, and there's a cubbyhole for
after-supper espressos. The fact that a bunch of top chefs were on
their way for celebrity chef Tom Kerridge's birthday feast when we
visited says a lot about the food. A starter of lobster is baptised
with a holy tomato consommé, and boozy gooseberries dance across a
plate piled with rosy deer. At bedtime, scoot over the road to the
converted farm building, which resembles a Scottish hunting den.
There's a piano in room eight and room five is so big it has its
own snooker table. For breakfast, home-smoked salmon, eggs and
daddy-bear-sized bowls of porridge laced with whisky are served in
the old pig sty at what looks like King Arthur's round table.